Doppler Effect, Red Shift and Hubble's Law

Doppler Effect, Redshift and Hubble's Law PhysicsAndMathsTutor.
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Doppler Effect, Redshift and Hubble’s Law
Q1.
The diagram shows the spectra produced by two stars. Spectrum A is produced from the
light from the Sun and spectrum B is produced from the light from a distant star.
The dark lines are produced when light from the core of the star is absorbed by hydrogen
atoms in the outer regions of the star. Light is then re-radiated, but in all directions, giving
rise to the dark lines in the spectrum.
Explain why the long wavelength lines are shifted by a greater amount than the short
wavelength lines.
(2)
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(Total for question = 2 marks)

Doppler Effect, Redshift and Hubble's Law PhysicsAndMathsTutor.com
Q2.
The diagram shows the spectra produced by two stars. Spectrum A is produced from the
light from the Sun and spectrum B is produced from the light from a distant star.
The dark lines are produced when light from the core of the star is absorbed by hydrogen
atoms in the outer regions of the star. Light is then re-radiated, but in all directions, giving
rise to the dark lines in the spectrum.
One of the lines in the hydrogen spectrum occurs at a wavelength of 656 nm in the
laboratory.
Explain what conclusion can be made from the shift in wavelength of this line in spectrum B.
Your answer should include a calculation.
(4)
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Q3.
In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was launched into a low Earth orbit above the
Earth's atmosphere.
High resolution images from HST allow astronomers to make detailed measurements of very
distant galaxies. The graph shows how the recessional velocities of distant galaxies depend
on their distance from Earth.
Determine an age for the universe.

(3)
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Age for the universe = ...........................................................

Q4.
Barnard's star is a red dwarf star in the vicinity of the Sun. The wavelength of a line in the
spectrum of light emitted from Barnard's star is measured to be 656.0 nm. The same light
produced by a source in a laboratory has a wavelength of 656.2 nm.
Calculate the velocity of Barnard's star relative to the Earth.

(3)
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Velocity = ...........................................................
Q5.
When a large potential difference is applied to a discharge tube, the gas in the discharge
tube emits coloured light. When this light is passed through a diffraction grating, an emission
spectrum which is made up of a series of lines of different wavelengths may be seen.
The photographs show the spectra produced from a tube containing hydrogen and a tube
containing helium.
Hydrogen:
Helium:
The graph shows the relative intensities of different wavelengths of light in the spectrum of a
sample of helium.
The graph shows that the lines are not at a single wavelength. This effect is known as
thermal Doppler broadening and occurs because of the random motion of the helium atoms.
(i) Explain why the thermal motion of the helium atoms causes the broadening of the
spectral lines.
(2)
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(ii) The width of a line may be used to determine the speed of the atoms in the gas and
hence the temperature of the gas.
The spectral line with wavelength 587 nm for a particular tube containing helium has a
width of 6 × 10−3 nm.
(1) Show that this corresponds to a speed, for a helium atom, of about 1500 m s−1.
(2)
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(2) Assuming that this is the root mean square speed for the helium (He 4) atoms in the
tube, calculate the temperature of the gas in the tube.
(3)
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Temperature = ...........................................................
Q6.
In 2016 astronomers announced the discovery of an Earth-like planet orbiting Proxima

Centauri, the closest star to the Sun.
The planet was detected because of the small movement of the star as the planet orbited.
The movement was detected using the Doppler shift in the frequency of light travelling to the
Earth.
The graph shows how the component of the star's velocity v towards the Earth varied over
time.
Explain how the Doppler shift was used to obtain the data shown on the graph.
(4)
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Q7.
About 100 years ago the first measurements of spectra from galaxies beyond the Milky Way
were made. Wavelengths of spectral lines were observed to be shifted and Hubble
discovered a rough correlation between the shift in the spectral line and the distance to the
galaxy.
The graphs below show plots for data collected in 1929 (Figure 1) and 1931 (Figure 2).
The data used by Hubble for his 1929 plot (Figure 1) is contained within the rectangle close
to the origin of the 1931 plot (Figure 2).
Explain how Hubble's observations support the conclusion that the universe is expanding,
and assess the reliability of this conclusion on the basis of Hubble's original data.
(5)
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Q8.
A line in the hydrogen spectrum of a star in the Milky Way galaxy is observed to have a
wavelength of 656.3 nm. In a laboratory on Earth this line has a wavelength of 654.9 nm.
Which of the following expressions gives the magnitude of the velocity of the star relative to
Earth?
(1)
(Total for question = 1 mark)

Q9.
A source of sound of constant frequency is moving towards an observer. Compared to the

frequency of the source, the frequency of sound heard by the observer is
A higher, because the speed of sound increases.
B lower, because the air is compressed.
C higher, because the wavelength of the sound decreases.
D lower, because the amplitude increases.
Q10.
The wavelength of a line in the spectrum produced by a distant star is found to be shorter
than the wavelength of the corresponding line in the spectrum produced by the Sun.
This is because the distant star is
A cooler than the Sun.
B hotter than the Sun.
C moving away from the Earth.
D moving towards the Earth.

Mark Scheme – Doppler Effect, Redshift and Hubble’s Law

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Doppler Effect, Redshift and Hubble's Law PhysicsAndMathsTutor.

Doppler Effect, Redshift and Hubble’s Law

(Total for question = 2 marks)

(Total for question = 4 marks)

Determine an age for the universe.

Age for the universe = ...........................................................

(Total for question = 3 marks)

Calculate the velocity of Barnard's star relative to the Earth.

(Total for question = 3 marks)

(Total for question = 7 marks)

In 2016 astronomers announced the discovery of an Earth-like planet orbiting Proxima

(Total for question = 4 marks)

(Total for question = 5 marks)

(Total for question = 1 mark)

A source of sound of constant frequency is moving towards an observer. Compared to the

A higher, because the speed of sound increases.

B lower, because the air is compressed.

C higher, because the wavelength of the sound decreases.

D lower, because the amplitude increases.

(Total for question = 1 mark)

This is because the distant star is

A cooler than the Sun.

B hotter than the Sun.

C moving away from the Earth.

D moving towards the Earth.

(Total for question = 1 mark)

Mark Scheme – Doppler Effect, Redshift and Hubble’s Law

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Doppler Effect, Red Shift and Hubble's Law

Doppler Effect, Red Shift and Hubble's Law